How Important Is Curb Appeal When House Hunting?

Posted on Feb 26, 2019 in

If you’re thinking about putting your house up for sale, you want it to be in the best condition you can possibly get it in. If you’ve already taken care of staging the inside and even done some renovations, you’re in good shape. It’s quite possible, however, that you haven’t thought about how important curb appeal can be when selling your home.

What Exactly Is Curb Appeal?

Curb appeal, simply put, is a real estate term for how a home looks upon first glance — as in, upon pulling up “to the curb.”

So, Why Does Curb Appeal Matter?

Curb appeal matters because, as we all know, first impressions matter. When you’re putting your house up for sale, your goal is to make it look as inviting as possible to potential buyers. You want the outside of your home to reflect what to expect on the inside of your home. If someone sees an overgrown yard and crumbling exterior, it may turn them off coming inside. They may move on to the next house for sale without looking at the inside of yours. An unkempt exterior may prompt buyers to try and negotiate a lower buying price.

Don’t forget, there’ll be pictures of your house for sale on the MLS listings. That is where curb appeal truly starts.

How Do I Get Great Curb Appeal?

Contrary to what you may think, improving your curb appeal may not equate to spending lots of time or money to fix up your yard. It doesn’t have to be a major home renovation, but try taking a weekend or two to get it looking better. Here are a few places to start.

Mow and weed your lawn.Of course, you should be doing this anyway, but before your home goes up for sale, take a bit of extra time to cut all your weeds back and have a freshly manicured lawn.

Fix your front door. Your front door should look inviting — you should want to open the door. Re-paint it if it looks in rough shape, and if you want to stand out, try painting it a bold colour. Remove all dust, cobwebs, and clutter surrounding it. Make sure it looks appealing — like someone has no choice but to open the door and look inside.

Fix your fences.You likely won’t have to replace your entire fence, but if there are loose posts, nail those down. Also, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint or, at least, touching it up.

Trim bushes and trees. Overgrown bushes, especially those which are impeding walkways and windows, take away from the appeal of the yard. Trimming some tree branches and bushes to give them a nicer shape gives cleaner lines and looks more inviting.

Take a final look around. Stand in front of your house and imagine seeing it for the first time. Try and think like a first-time homebuyer looking at a house for sale. Keep a keen eye out for anything else that needs to be fixed. Are there loose shingles or drain pipes which need to be secured? Is anything too cluttered or dirty?

Contact the Faber Group

At the Faber Group, we want to help you sell your home as fast as possible and at the best price possible. We can give you even more tips about curb appeal as well as other selling tips. Contact us today for more information.